Chef John's Béarnaise Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
This recipe was developed at its original yield. Ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted, but cooking times and steps remain unchanged. Note that not all recipes scale perfectly. Original recipe (1X) yields 8 servings.

• 1 cup fresh tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped
• cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• cup white wine vinegar
• cup white wine
• cup water

Compound Butter:

• cup chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 teaspoon drained capers
• 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Barnaise Sauce:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons tarragon-vinegar reduction
• 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon caper-tarragon compound butter
• Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place 1 cup of tarragon, shallots, and peppercorns into a saucepan. Add white wine vinegar, white wine, and water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Let it reduce for about 20 to 30 minutes until the liquid is reduced to about 3 tablespoons.
2. Remove the saucepan from heat. Strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down on the tarragon mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside the strained liquid.
3. To make the compound butter: In a mortar, combine cup chopped tarragon and capers. Using a pestle, mash the mixture for about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of cold unsalted butter and continue mashing until the ingredients form a solid mass. Transfer the compound butter to a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, and chill it in the refrigerator.
4. To make the Barnaise sauce: Place the egg yolks into a stainless steel mixing bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the tarragon- shallot reduction and whisk until well combined. Gradually add cubes of cold unsalted butter while whisking constantly.
5. Place the bowl over low to medium heat, using a kitchen towel to hold the bowl steady, and whisk constantly. As the butter melts, continue whisking. After 8 to 10 minutes, the sauce will become a lighter yellow and thicken. Once thickened, reduce the heat to low.
6. Add the compound butter, broken into chunks, and continue whisking until fully incorporated. Remove from heat.
7. Season the sauce with salt, cayenne pepper, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Chef's Note
A sauce made with 75% butter is perfect for elevating lean meats. It can also be used to create a memorable eggs Benedict.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

• Calories: 152
• Total Fat: 14g (18% Daily Value)
• Saturated Fat: 9g (43% Daily Value)
• Cholesterol: 86mg (29% Daily Value)
• Sodium: 38mg (2% Daily Value)
• Total Carbohydrates: 3g (1% Daily Value)
• Dietary Fiber: 0g (1% Daily Value)
• Total Sugars: 1g
• Protein: 1g (3% Daily Value)
• Vitamin C: 1mg (1% Daily Value)
• Calcium: 30mg (2% Daily Value)
• Iron: 1mg (3% Daily Value)
• Potassium: 91mg (2% Daily Value)